ANAHEIM –– The Ducks didn’t hold back their stars before the crowd at Honda Center on Sunday afternoon, when Beckett Sennecke’s natural hat trick buoyed a 6-2 win over the San Jose Sharks in both teams’ preseason opener.
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San Jose fielded an understated assortment of players. Mainstays like Macklin Celebrini and No. 2 overall pick Ivar Stenberg, as well as new additions, such as former Ducks defender Jacob Trouba, skipped Sunday’s game. By contrast, the Ducks played a star-studded lineup that included their core four of young stars as well as their last two top draft selections, along with veterans Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn.
Leo Carlsson gave glimpses of what made him worth $18 million a year, scoring a spectacular goal and following it up with a jaw-dropping primary assist on the first of three consecutive goals by Sennecke. Jackson LaCombe’s tally was engineered by Cutter Gauthier. Tristan Luneau and Nico Myatovic each dished out two assists, with Luneau adding a late goal. Free-agent addition Laurent Brossoit made 21 saves.
Eric Pohlkamp and Jimmy Huntington scored for San Jose. Eric Comrie played just over half the match before giving way to Matt Davis, who earned the loss.
“There were some nice plays and our top guys played well,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “But if you go into their building, they’re playing all their top guys and our lineup might not be as strong.”
He added: “(Sennecke) has had a great camp so far, and Leo, it was a real strong game for him, he stepped up to that level where we like to see him.”
The Ducks buried the Sharks in the final frame, slathering on two more goals at 8:10 and 13:44.
Sennecke gloved down an aerial pass just outside the blue line, zooming in with a forehand-to-backhand move that sent the fedoras flying.
Luneau later hammered a one-timer from the left point for goal No. 6.
The Ducks gave up the first goal in each of the first two periods but put up a pair of unanswered markers both times to hold a 4-2 advantage through 40 minutes.
They surrendered an equalizer but jumped back in front 70 seconds later before creating some separation with 3:53 to play in the second stanza.
Former Duck Brett Leason made a brilliant one-handed pass off the right-wing wall, where both Ducks defensemen were stuck, to a wide-open Huntington at the 11:05 mark.
The Ducks would respond with two goals from Sennecke, the first on the power play (12:15) and the second at even strength (16:07).
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Carlsson’s explosive entry drew three defenders and his show-stopping saucer pass hit Sennecke in stride to scoop a short-side shot over Davis’ shoulder.
“The speed there going through the middle of the ice, whatever you want to call that, to me, that’s the greatest strength you can have as a centerman,” Quenneville said. “Leo earned some of that money tonight.”
Sennecke then smashed a one-timer from high in the zone off a Luneau feed.
The Ducks fell back into some bad habits early to allow the first goal but then struck twice to carry a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
They ceded the game’s first goal early, on the second Sharks shot just 97 seconds into the affair, and from the slot, where Pohlkamp flicked in a wrister from above the hash marks with 2025 Ducks lottery pick Roger McQueen caught behind the play.
But they’d fire back 80 seconds later with LaCombe’s equalizer and then establish an edge at the 6:07 mark off Carlsson’s dandy of a deke.
After Luneau’s blue-line-to-blue-line pass found Gauthier, Gauthier sloughed off contact from Sam Dickinson and then beat Roland McKeown to slide a cross-ice pass to LaCombe, who finished with aplomb.
Then, Carlsson got the puck from Drew Helleson and simply went to work, tying Samuel Huo in knots by dangling from his forehand to backhand and back before snapping the puck past Comrie.
Nikita Klepov, 2026’s 15th overall pick, earned the secondary assist and played much of the match with Carlsson and Gauthier. The 18-year-old did not look out of place at all in his first pro game.
“It depends what the game dictates,” Klepov said. “If they’re open, I’m always trying to give (the puck) to them, but if I have open ice, I’ll try to skate it there.”
The Ducks host the Kings on Wednesday in the second of their four exhibition dates.
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